Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week:

I.   An enormous family Easter feast completely derailed my “tiny gown diet” for Mid-Winter Gala at the Legion of Honor this week. Consequently, I’m swapping red meat for fish and carbs for leafy greens until then. My absolute favorite way to serve seafood is with a beurre blanc (white wine, shallots, vinegar, and butter simmered then blended together). Given the fact that the french word for butter is in the title, it’s clearly not the healthiest choice - but you only need a couple teaspoons to take a boring fish recipe to an entirely new level. The most traditional beurre blanc flavor is lemon, but I like to change it up a little by adding tomato to the decedent sauce. Pair with pan-seared scallops for a quick healthy(ish) dinner this evening.

II.  With almost every weekend between now and summer booked with bachelorette trips, I’ve been thinking about fun ways to fete all of my beautiful brides-to-be. After browsing Pinterest and Instagram for ideas, I found these adorable temporary gilded tattoos from Daydream Prints. Slightly more subtle than the typical group tees, these tattoos are a sweet touch for bridal party bonding. The store has similarly darling prints and stationary, so be sure to check it out before your next girls getaway.

III.  While we’re on the topic of weddings, how striking is this butterfly canopy?! A tented reception is nothing new, but swapping classic chandeliers and fairy lights for a large-scale installation is genius. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the woman behind this genius is my friend Shannon of Shannon Leahy Events. If you’re pre-wedding and haven’t settled on a planner yet, I can’t recommend her highly enough. And if you’re post-wedding, here’s a darling mobile version of the butterfly panoply for your nursery (or your own bedroom, I’m certainly not judging…).

IV.  For cake and cupcake recipes, I often rely on tweaking store-bought mixes for efficiency. The resulting confections are nothing short of scrumptious, so long as you ignore the ingredient lists filled with chemicals you can barely pronounce. Enter Miss Jones Baking Co. a new company built by a woman following her passion for baking, promising cake and frosting mixes that are organic, soy/dairy/nut/dehydrogenated oil/trans-fat/artificial coloring-free. Pack your pantry immediately via the site, your local Safeway, or select Whole Foods and Raley’s. But don’t forget my secret weapon: add bourbon or brandy to chocolate cakes and gin to vanilla cakes for an instant-flavor boost.

V.  I’m beyond thrilled to be chairing the closing gala for the Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective at the de Young Museum on May 7th. The instant we found out about the exhibit, curated by Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley, my co-chairs and I started plotting the chicest way to put a youthful spin on the fashion legend’s work. We didn’t have to look farther than the entire room Andre dedicated to Steven Meisel’s iconic photograph of mohawked models. The juxtaposition of subversive with couture translates perfectly into our theme: Haute Punk. Get your tickets before they sell out (I promise this will happen in the next few weeks, so don’t say I didn’t warn you). 

Have a wonderful week!  xx tt